Summer Camp: Novature

Hello World Anvil!   Let's make this a quick intro.
1. I've been dying to say hello and to express my appreciation for the WA platform and all the functionality its given me.
2. 7 months since I joined. 70,000 words in articles; 100,000 words on manuscript #1, manuscripts #2,3,4 rocking very shiny outlines; maps, timelines, images ; and not one thing published. Why?
3. Because I'm still 16 months away from even thinking about publishing my first book. Because I'm protective of my ideas in a world where AI can write a book in a week (No shade to AI; I always knew you could do it <3).
4. This Summer Camp business seems like a convinient time to open up a little. As I near completion of the first draft it's also a good time to step back and review the world as a whole.
5. I may write 32 articles and not publish a single one. My goal will be to publish articles that describe the world without spoiling elements of my story; but that is not always possible.
6. Novature (C) ; I'm copyrighted and everything in my world is my own intellectual property.

Week 1: Change

1. Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Rebirth is a central theme of my series. 3+ years of working on my world has given it a life of its own, but until I publish book 1, anything could change. Part of the reason I'm undertaking this assignment is to refresh myself on my world. Drafting can create tunnel vision and as I near completion of the first draft. A great many changes will come with edits.
Often changes occur as I'm writing the chapters themselves. I write chronologically. I don't always see the need for change until I'm standing in that moment of my story and saying "something feels off". In the latest chapter which I just finished, I added a heavy cannon in the background, the firing of which raised questions into its target and provided a reminder of conflicts, past and present.
On a wider scale I am always working toward more defined pathways for my characters. In the last few chapters, which follow the antihero's pathway, I reviewed the plot of this character entirely and made major adjustments to give it a balance with the hero and the world. This included the creation of a new enemy for the antihero. I'd love to just blurt it out but here we are already. I'll let you read my book someday.

2. Based on this, decide how many prompts you'll go for during Summer Camp. Then, download the pledge document and fill it accordingly!

Might as well do the max. Since everything I have is unpublished I can get some challenge from a larger quantity.

3. Get your categories and tags organized!

Done.

4. Take a look at your meta, primer, and any other high-level document and update it according to the current state of your world.

Done. Was hard to resist giving away all my story spoilers. I remain confident that not every article I write will be published, but I'll do my best to make 32 that can.

Week 2: Refuge

1. Consider what kinds of refuge would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Nowhere is safe in my book. Sorry let me try that again. There are many refuges and safehouses in my book. However, recon tech and dependance on networks makes most places susceptible to detection and infiltration. "You can't stop the Signal."
Safest place in the book is usually Stella. I'm sure her article will be prompted (and linked) come July.

2. Find a community—whether that’s our Discord server, Facebook Group, your RPG or friend group, or something else.

I'm no stranger to accountability buddies. I've told my girlfriend that if I fail to finish 32 articles I'll let her p*g me. It's not gonna happen; not till I'm ready.

3. Find ways to improve styling and layout in your world!

I was needing to commit to an article format. I have selected a better global banner, which I can upload when I get home. I also reviewed how I will be arranging the articles; aka where the pictures will be, where the categories will be, etc.

4. If you’re a CSS wizard, maybe take the time now to give it a polish!

Was happy to get this one. Have been putting CSS off for a while now. My articles are now written in glorious BHANSCHRIFT font, and my background doesn't roll as you scroll. Still have so much to learn.
If anyone has tips on indenting paragraphs; I've yet to figure it out.

Week 3: Belief

1. Consider what kind of beliefs would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

My series has two major faiths with reflect the dichotemy of the machine/human societies. Faith is less of a call to arms and more of a source for personal peace in my world, which is a nice change from the real world sometimes. The relevant beliefs of these religions is widely present throughout the series, even where faith is not mentioned. It's fun to make faiths but I think it's meaningful to challenge them after the reader starts.

2. Create a bank of inspirations! Quotes, music, description of experiences and shower thoughts, etc.

I reviewed a massive one note doc where I list my inpsirations. Contextually I'm talking book titles, movies, videogames, music. Anything that inspires me I try to give a little nod to in my story - as long as it doesn't break the immersion. I've assimilated my list into a private WA article that I plan to include in my meta. Still working on my personal writing deadlines at the moment; so that job is sitting comfortably on the back burner for now.

3. Find art and pictures that inspire you, and grab a map if you don't have one (and need one).

I love pinterest for this. I have found hundred of fresh takes on scifi, mech-warfare, and everything else. I used Midjourney to help me make my map; first by generating individual planets and then a starry background to drop them on. I merged these images together on Procreate (drawing app), and was really pleased with the results. I actually printed the map at staples. It's framed on a large 4'x2' board above my desk. I sometimes use it to help me reherse the plot with action figures representing the characters. I highly recommend it, the print job was surprisingly cheap (~40$).

4. Check your inspirations again. Are they still relevant? Can you find any that better represent the current state of your project?.

I'm going to be thinking about this question until I dare to publish a manuscript. I'm at a point where, when a new scifi story or real world technology comes out, I devour it for any ideas or inspirations I can get. I'm proud of what's already fuelling my book, but I do have a reading list that I'm eager to resume. The next on my read list is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Yes I had to goolge the spelling of his name.

Week 4: Decay

1. Consider what kind of decay would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Literal decay is uncommon in my book, where futuristic technologies can prevent undesirable decay while utilizing natural decay in ecological practices. A notable theme of my book is the way a person over time decays in the face of hard experiences and losses. Beyond this I realize that decay can be more present in books 3 and 4 where we step out of the utopian dome worlds and into the struggling colonial societies.
 

2. If you like special tea when you write, stock up for a month. Tidy your office, make a “do not disturb” sign, and think about any other last-minute strategies to optimize your writing space and time.

I ordered a room divider recently, and while my rabbits are already chewing it to splinters, for now it functions as my castle wall against the assault of real life distractions. Beyond this I've just been trying to get ahead of personal obligations to open me up for a more uninterrupted writting bender. After July 9th I hope to be without distractions for the rest of the month. Oh and my desk is always clean or I can't focus.
 

3. Review your world homepage to hook potential readers.

I admit I always resent the need to "hook" people. I wrote an abstract for my world introduction but - you guessed it - it's too insightful so it'll remain private until I'm closer to publishing. I do keep a seperate doc for favourite images, favourite quotes, etc; anything that might be good for fishing. I did get pretty pumped reading it over and think I'll keep it close next month for inspiration.
 

4. Take a look at your author profile and pillar articles on your world and polish them.

Alas not currently relevant, my only published article is this one and until summer camp starts I'll keep my eggs in their baskets. I do think the categories will come in handy. I also spent a good chunk of time writing my author bio recently and at the moment it requires no adjusting.
I think I've been ready for summer camp for a while now. See you there.